Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 9 Recap & Characters (Spoiler-Free)

Episode Summary

Temari Demon and Arrow Demon

The Temari Demon Susamaru and the Arrow Demon Yahaba, sent by Muzan to kill Tanjiro, find Tamayo's hidden house and attack. Yushiro is beheaded by a temari, Tanjiro uses Water Breathing forms and Yushiro's sight talisman to read the arrows guiding the temaris, Nezuko loses a foot, and Tanjiro finally beheads Yahaba after a combined attack.

• Discovery of the hidden house

  The two demons locate Tanjiro by breaking the cloaking spell that hid Tamayo's house, while Yahaba senses a Blood Demon Art wielder hiding objects.

• Yushiro beheaded

  Susamaru's temari swerves unnaturally and strikes Yushiro, who had stood in front of Tamayo, decapitating him.

• Arrow-guided counterattack

  Tanjiro perceives the arrows directing the temaris through Yushiro's talisman and cuts the temaris with Water Breathing forms, then slices off Susamaru's arms.

• Nezuko and Yushiro's counterattacks

  Nezuko kicks Yahaba and Yushiro strikes Susamaru from invisibility, though Susamaru's temari breaks off Nezuko's right foot and Susamaru kicks her into the house.

• Tanjiro defeats Yahaba

  Tanjiro is repeatedly flung about by the arrows and nearly falls to his death, then combines the Sixth and Third Forms to wrap up the arrows, closes in, and decapitates the Arrow Demon with Second Form: Improved, Lateral Water Wheel.

Recent Timeline

• Satoko devoured by clone (Episode 6)

  The one-horned clone displays a collection of hairpins taken from its past victims. Kazumi recognizes Satoko's hairpin among them and realizes she was devoured, confirming that the missing girls are dead.

• Clones defeated and Asakusa dispatch (Episode 7)

  Tanjiro enters the swamp portal, beheads two clones with Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool, then cuts off the arms of the last clone that had nearly killed Nezuko and beheads it after it regrows them, ending the threat of the three demon clones. He gives Kazumi Satoko's hairpin, and Kazumi, realizing Tanjiro suffered a similar loss, apologizes for his harsh words and is entrusted with the surviving girl. At dawn, Tanjiro's crow sends him straight to Asakusa in Tokyo, and he is shocked to travel again immediately. In Asakusa he smells a demon's scent and finds Muzan disguised as a human man with a wife and child; Muzan secretly slashes a passerby's neck, turning him into a demon who bites his own wife's shoulder while the crowd watches.

• Transformed man taken to Tamayo (Episode 8)

  Tamayo's illusion distracts the police, and she helps Tanjiro restrain the transformed man. He is taken to her house and held in the basement, and the injured wife, whom Tanjiro had told to slow her bleeding at the scene, is left in Tamayo's care.

• Alley killings by Muzan (Episode 8)

  Muzan brutally kills a drunk man who insulted his pale skin by punching him into a wall, then kills a bystander woman by flooding her body with his blood until her cells are destroyed. The drunk man's brother is left wounded by a kick.

• Temari Demon attack on Tamayo's house (Episode 9)

  The Temari Demon and Arrow Demon, sent by Muzan to kill Tanjiro, destroy Tamayo's house; a temari beheads Yushiro, but he regenerates and keeps fighting. Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Tamayo's group fight them until Tanjiro beheads the Arrow Demon, while the Temari Demon regenerates after losing her arms and Nezuko loses a foot.

Character Graph

Giyu Tomioka

Demon Slayer

Demon Slayer who finds Tanjiro and Nezuko, believes Nezuko is different and spares her. He sends Tanjiro to find Sakonji Urokodaki.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Other, Mixed)

  Attacks Tanjiro at first, then spares him and sends him toward Urokodaki.

• Nezuko (Other, Mixed)

  Restrains Nezuko, then spares her after seeing she is different from other demons.

Nezuko

demon

Younger sister of Tanjiro. After being wounded by a demon's blood she has transformed into a demon, but she still protects her brother and does not eat humans.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Family, Affinity)

  Older brother, whom she protects even after her transformation.

• Giyu Tomioka (Other, Mixed)

  Demon Slayer who restrains her and then spares her after seeing she is different.

Saburo

Elderly neighbour who has lost his family to demons. He warns Tanjiro not to enter the mountain at night and explains to him what demons are like.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Other, Affinity)

  Elderly neighbour who shelters Tanjiro for the night and explains the danger of demons to him.

Makomo

A young girl with a dreamy demeanour who meets Tanjiro in the forest, teaches him Total Concentration Breathing, and corrects his form. She was orphaned and raised by Sakonji.

• Sakonji Urokodaki (Guardian, Affinity)

  Was orphaned and raised by Sakonji and loves him dearly.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Mentor, Affinity)

  Teaches Tanjiro breathing and form and promises to look after him.

Sabito (Fox-masked swordsman)

A young swordsman who wears a fox mask and trains Tanjiro through sparring after appearing atop the boulder. He was orphaned and raised by Sakonji.

• Sakonji Urokodaki (Guardian, Affinity)

  Was orphaned and raised by Sakonji and loves him dearly.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Other, Mixed)

  Trains Tanjiro through sparring and knocks him unconscious, while also helping him improve.

Sakonji Urokodaki (Sakonji)

Demon Slayer

Tanjiro's master, who lives at the foot of Mount Sagiri and trains swordsmen. At Giyu's request he trained Tanjiro and sent him to Final Selection, where his earlier students Sabito and Makomo had died at the hands of a demon he had imprisoned 47 years ago.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Mentor, Affinity)

  Took Tanjiro as his student at Giyu's request and sent him to Final Selection, hoping he would not die there.

• Sabito (Mentor, Affinity)

  Former student who died in Final Selection.

• Makomo (Mentor, Affinity)

  Former student who died in Final Selection.

Muzan Kibutsuji (Muzan)

demon

The progenitor of all demons and the enemy Tanjiro hunts, living in Asakusa disguised as a human with a wife and child. After Tanjiro confronts him, he sends two demons to bring him Tanjiro's head.

• Disguised life

  Living as a human man with a wife and a young child, while secretly a demon with red, cat-like eyes.

• Feared by demons

  A lesser demon was terrified upon hearing his name and refused to speak of him, citing a past threat that he would always be watching.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Other, Hostility)

  Tanjiro recognizes him as a demon on sight and prepares to draw his blade, and Muzan notices him and denies having met him.

• Nezuko (Other, Neutral)

  Nezuko is said to have gotten much blood from Muzan, implying a source link to Muzan.

Tamayo

demon · doctor

A demon who transformed herself and treats humans, having removed Muzan's curse from her body. She wishes to take down Muzan and is working on a way to return demons to humans.

• Medical work

  Treats injured people, transforms only those terminally ill or gravely injured, and asks them whether they wish to live as demons.

• Yushiro (Mentor, Guardian, Affinity)

  Her assistant boy; only after 200 years was she able to turn him into a demon.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Colleague, Affinity)

  She asks Tanjiro to supply blood samples from Nezuko and from demons close to Muzan for an elixir; Tanjiro senses she is pure and honest and can be trusted.

• Nezuko (Colleague, Neutral)

  She studies Nezuko's blood, seeing her as extremely rare for sleeping to heal.

Tanjiro Kamado (Tanjiro)

Demon Slayer

Eldest son of a charcoal-selling family who became a Demon Slayer to turn his sister Nezuko, now a demon, back into a human. When Muzan's demons Susamaru and Yahaba attack Tamayo's house, he cuts off Susamaru's arms and beheads Yahaba with Water Breathing.

• Tasks

  Agrees to supply blood samples from Nezuko and from demons close to Muzan.

• Nezuko (Family, Affinity)

  Younger sister. Transformed into a demon, and Tanjiro refuses to abandon her.

• Giyu Tomioka (Other, Mixed)

  Demon Slayer who first attacks Tanjiro and Nezuko, then spares Nezuko and sends Tanjiro to Sakonji Urokodaki.

• Saburo (Other, Affinity)

  Elderly neighbour who shelters Tanjiro for the night and explains the danger of demons.

• Sabito (Other, Mixed)

  Sabito is the swordsman who trains him, knocks him out, and is later defeated by his slash.

• Makomo (Mentor, Affinity)

  Makomo corrects his form and teaches him breathing.

• Tamayo (Colleague, Affinity)

  A demon doctor he has come to trust, who asked him for blood samples for an elixir.

• Yushiro (Other, Hostility)

  Repeatedly clashes with Yushiro, who strikes him for approaching Tamayo.

• Sakonji Urokodaki (Mentor, Affinity)

  His master, who trained him at Giyu's request and sent him to Final Selection.

• Arrow Demon (Other, Hostility)

  Hunted him for Muzan and flung him around with arrows until Tanjiro beheaded him.

• Temari Demon (Other, Hostility)

  Hurled her temari at him; he sliced through them and cut off her arms.

Arrow Demon (Yahaba)

demon

One of the two demons Muzan sent to bring him Tanjiro's head, who tracks targets with the eyes on his palms and steers Susamaru's temari with his arrows. He flings Tanjiro around with the arrows but is beheaded by Tanjiro's combined Water Breathing attack.

• Hunt

  Uses eyes embedded in his hands to follow Tanjiro's path.

• Concealment deduction

  Deduced that the hidden house was concealed by a Blood Demon Art wielder adept at hiding objects.

• Muzan Kibutsuji (Hierarchy, Neutral)

  Sent by Muzan to bring Tanjiro's head.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Other, Hostility)

  Ordered to bring Tanjiro's head, he flings him around with his arrows until Tanjiro beheads him.

• Temari Demon (Colleague, Mixed)

  Her partner; he disapproves of her eagerness and considers taking only Tanjiro and Tamayo.

Temari Demon (Susamaru)

demon

One of the two demons Muzan sent to bring him Tanjiro's head, who hurls temari with tremendous force and claims to be one of the Twelve Kizuki. She beheads Yushiro and breaks off Nezuko's foot, and regrows her arms at once after Tanjiro cuts them off.

• Attack

  Her temari punch through the house, and she is excited by the upcoming fight, fueled by Muzan's blood.

• Claimed rank

  Calls herself a member of the Twelve Kizuki, the demons who serve directly under Muzan.

• Muzan Kibutsuji (Hierarchy, Neutral)

  Sent by Muzan to bring Tanjiro's head; her strength comes from Muzan's blood, and she claims to serve him as one of the Twelve Kizuki.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Other, Hostility)

  Declares Tanjiro is the one Muzan wants dead and hurls her temari at him to take his head.

• Arrow Demon (Colleague, Mixed)

  Her partner; he chides her immaturity and she ribs him in return.

• Yushiro (Other, Hostility)

  Curses her for hurting Tamayo and is hostile toward her; she beheads him with a temari.

Yushiro

demon

Tamayo's assistant, a boy she turned into a demon, who is fiercely protective of her and hostile to anyone who comes near her. Beheaded by a temari while shielding Tamayo, he regenerates, strikes Susamaru while invisible, and gives Tanjiro a talisman that lets him see Yahaba's arrows.

• Attitude

  Protective of Tamayo, quick to strike Tanjiro, and calls Nezuko an eyesore.

• Protector of Tamayo

  Stood in the path of a temari to shield Tamayo and was beheaded, then healed.

• Tamayo (Mentor, Guardian, Affinity)

  His creator and mistress, whom he adores; he treasures his time with her and shields her with his body in battle.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Other, Hostility)

  Antagonistic toward Tanjiro, punching and flipping him for getting close to Tamayo.

• Nezuko (Other, Hostility)

  Calls Nezuko an eyesore and questions whether she is really a demon.

• Temari Demon (Other, Hostility)

  Hostile to her for hurting Tamayo; vows she is unforgivable.

World Memo

• Demon physical prowess

  Demons have great physical strength and powerful regeneration.

• Sunlight harms transformed demon

  A transformed demon must not be exposed to sunlight.

• Only sunlight or special sword

  Demons can be killed only by sunlight or by a special sword.

• Final Selection requirement

  Becoming a Demon Slayer requires attending the Final Selection held on Mount Fujikasane. The trainer alone decides whether a student may enter.

• Varied demon powers

  Some demons can shape-shift, while others have entirely different powers.

• Demon power scales with victims eaten

  Demons eat humans to gain strength, as humans eat food; a demon's power is proportional to the number of victims it has devoured, and a Demon Slayer's sharpened sense of smell can reveal that number.

• Blood Demon Art spells

  Some kinds of demons possess spells called Blood Demon Art, which grant them supernatural abilities.

• Blood Demon Art naming convention

  Demon techniques are classed as Blood Demon Arts and given a name, such as Scent of Illusory Blood, Visual Dream.

• Hidden house behind alley dead end

  A house stands hidden where an alley dead end appears, and the wall there can be walked through to reach it.

• Blood transfusion sustains modified demons

  Demons whose bodies have been modified need only small amounts of blood to survive, taken by blood transfusion. A demon transformed by another needs less blood than the one who transformed them.

• Transformation into a demon

  A human whose wounds are exposed to a demon's blood is turned into a demon, and the change cannot be reversed. Only one demon's blood can produce this transformation, and that blood belongs to the first demon, who became one over a thousand years ago and is known as Muzan Kibutsuji.

  Usually only Muzan can transform people into demons. Tamayo is the exception: she has also transformed people, having turned Yushiro after 200 years. She only transforms the terminally ill or gravely injured, and she first asks them whether they wish to live as demons.

• Twelve Kizuki demon rank

  The Twelve Kizuki are a group of elite demons that serve directly under Muzan.

Clue Board

• Nezuko's restraint (Episode 1)

  Nezuko spends energy healing her wounds and fighting while resisting the urge to kill Tanjiro for food, and Giyu notices she is different from other demons.

• Makomo's unknown origin (Episode 3)

  When Tanjiro asks where Makomo is from, she does not answer and only says that she and Sabito love Sakonji dearly; her origin remains unrevealed.

• Other children always watching (Episode 3)

  Makomo says there are other children like her and Sabito, orphans raised by Sakonji, who are always watching Tanjiro; their identity and purpose are not explained.

• Morphed demon imprisoned 47 years (Episode 4)

  The morphed demon says Sakonji imprisoned it on Mount Fujikasane 47 years ago, and the applicant doubts any demon in Final Selection is that old; the demon's origin and why it has lived so long remain unexplained.

• Black blade color (Episode 5)

  Tanjiro's Nichirin Sword turns black, against the smith's expectation of red for a sun-bright user; Sakonji dismisses it as uncommon, and the reason stays unexplained.

• Nezuko sensing siblings in victims (Episode 6)

  Nezuko touches the heads of Kazumi and the rescued girl and seems to see her siblings Takeo and Hanako within them, before charging the clones.

• Cause of transformation (Episode 7)

  Giyu explains that Nezuko's exposed wounds came into contact with the demon's blood, which caused her change into a demon.

  Sakonji says only the progenitor demon, Muzan Kibutsuji, who first became a demon over a thousand years ago, has blood capable of turning someone into a demon.

  The clone attributes Nezuko's great strength to having taken much blood from Muzan, a hint that Muzan's blood is connected to her transformation. This is only the clone's belief and is not confirmed.

• Muzan posing as a family man (Episode 7)

  Muzan is seen living as a human with a wife and a little girl, while Tanjiro recognizes him as a demon. When the wife asks whether he has met Tanjiro before, Muzan denies it and says he must have mistaken him for someone else. Why he hides among humans and whether he truly does not know Tanjiro remains unexplained.

• Muzan's feared hanafuda-earring enemy (Episode 8)

  Muzan suddenly becomes terrified while alone, recalling a past figure standing before him, a feared enemy who raised a sword while wearing hanafuda earrings. The identity of this enemy is not revealed.

• Why Muzan wants Tanjiro dead (Episode 9)

  The demons were tasked by their master to kill Tanjiro, and Susamaru says Tanjiro is the one Muzan wants dead. The reason Muzan wants him dead is not given.

• Susamaru's servitude to Muzan (Episode 9)

  Yushiro wonders whether Susamaru serves Muzan; Susamaru then claims to be one of the Twelve Kizuki, and Tamayo explains that the Twelve Kizuki are demons who serve directly under Muzan.

• Possible reversal of transformation (Episode 9)

  Giyu says a transformation is irreversible, yet also suggests demons may know how to reverse it, though he doubts they would help.

  Tanjiro's question about returning Nezuko to a human went unanswered; the demons on Mount Fujikasane attacked him instead, so the question stays open.

  Tanjiro asks whether a demon can be turned back into a human. Tamayo says a way exists but does not yet know how, and she and Yushiro are working on a method that may succeed. She needs blood samples from Nezuko and from demons closest to Muzan's powers to make an elixir.

  Believing Susamaru's claim that they are Twelve Kizuki, Tanjiro resolves to extract the two demons' blood, and charges at Yahaba aiming to extract his blood to produce the treatment. Susamaru invites him to try.

Deduction Board

Facts

• Yushiro beheaded

  A temari swerves unnaturally and beheads Yushiro as he shields Tamayo.

• Nezuko's right foot severed

  A temari breaks off Nezuko's right foot before she is sent into the house.

• Arrow Demon beheaded

  Tanjiro beheads the Arrow Demon after a combined attack.

Evidence

• Blood-fueled excitement

  The Temari Demon feels the blood Muzan gave her for strength coursing through her veins and grows excited for the fight.

• Faster regeneration noted

  Tanjiro notes she regenerates faster than any demon from the Final Selection.

• House concealment broken

  The Temari Demon destroys the cloaking spell hiding the house with her temaris.

Inferences

• Applicant may be the fifth survivor

  A man is told five applicants survived, which exceeds the four Tanjiro saw, so the applicant he saved may have survived

• Different from ordinary demons

  The swordsman judged that she was different and chose to spare her rather than kill her.

• Not a Blood Demon Art

  Sakonji does not believe Nezuko's long sleep is an example of a Blood Demon Art

Suspicions

• Single source

  The three clones may all come from one demon, given their identical smell.

• May devour a human

  Sakonji warned that Nezuko might devour someone and said that if she did, Tanjiro would have to kill her and then take his own life.

• Sleep replaces devouring humans

  Sakonji hypothesizes that Nezuko's long sleep is the alternative to devouring human flesh in order to recover

Battle Record

The Temari Demon and the Arrow Demon keep attacking the house and fighting Tanjiro, Yushiro, Nezuko and Tamayo. Yushiro is beheaded by a temari and later heals; Nezuko loses her right foot; Tanjiro slices off the Temari Demon's arms; Yushiro punches her to her knees. The Arrow Demon is decapitated by Tanjiro, while the Temari Demon remains alive and still fighting at the end of the episode.

Demon clone battle in the northwest town

Final clone killed · Episodes 6–7

Location: Swamp portal in the northwest town

Trigger: Three demon clones attacking the town

Demon Slayer vs demon clones

• Demon Slayer side — Demon Slayer: Tanjiro Kamado, Nezuko
• Demon side — Demon clones: Three demon clones

Outcome: All three demon clones killed; Tanjiro beheaded two clones with Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool and beheaded the third after cutting off its arms.

Aftermath

• Tanjiro's clone fight is over and he returns to Nezuko, who is asleep to heal her wounds.

Asakusa street attack

Transformed man restrained · Episodes 7–8

Location: Asakusa crowd

Trigger: A man transformed into a demon and injured his wife

Sides

• Tanjiro's side — Demon Slayer: Tanjiro Kamado / Allies: Tamayo, Yushiro
• Transformed man — Demon: Transformed husband

Outcome: Transformed man restrained and held in the basement

Aftermath

• Wife injured and treated by Tamayo
• Police present at the scene

Temari Demon attack on Tamayo's house

Tanjiro, Nezuko and Yushiro defend against the Temari Demon and Arrow Demon · Episode 8– (Ongoing)

Location: Tamayo's house

Trigger: The Arrow Demon and the Temari Demon were sent by their master (Muzan) to kill Tanjiro.

Tanjiro's side vs. Muzan's demons

• Tanjiro's side — fighters: Tanjiro Kamado, Nezuko, Yushiro / protected: Tamayo
• Demon attackers — attackers: Temari Demon, Arrow Demon

Outcome: Ongoing — the Temari Demon is still fighting at the end of the episode

Ability Table

Season Summary

Season 1 — Season 1

Episodes 1–9

After a demon slaughters his family and turns his sister Nezuko into one, charcoal seller Tanjiro Kamado trains under Sakonji Urokodaki, survives Final Selection, and becomes a Demon Slayer to turn her back into a human. After defeating the swamp demon in Northwest Town, he finds Muzan Kibutsuji in Asakusa, living disguised as a human.

There he meets the demon doctor Tamayo and agrees to gather demon blood for a medicine that could turn Nezuko back. Muzan's demons Susamaru and Yahaba then attack Tamayo's house: Yushiro is beheaded by a temari but regenerates, Nezuko loses a foot, and Tanjiro, seeing the invisible arrows through Yushiro's talisman, cuts off Susamaru's arms and finally beheads Yahaba.

Music Releases

• Gurenge (OP)
• from the edge (ED)